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Mother nodded with a grimace, huffing out a loud breath. “They cursed him with bad luck. Poor boy kept slipping on even ground, getting pinned down with falling icicles, things like that. When he stayed at home, his clothes caught fire or he choked on food. It was pretty bad.”
“What was he doing near a bloody ravine, then?” Cris asked, this story news to him like it was to me.
Ma sighed, giving me an uneasy look. “Well, he tried to get the curse lifted before it killed him. But he died on the way.”
“So there’s a way to fix it?” I asked eagerly. “What is it?”
Ma shook her head, looking at Scarlett with worried eyes. “There’s a small lake up the mountain. I’ve been there a few times as a girl, but we stopped going up there at some point. It’s right by the border of the Yule lads’ territory and it’s rumored to be magical. Its water never freezes and it washes away curses.”
I digested this while Scarlett shifted impatiently, her leg beginning to bounce under my hand. “Let me get this straight,” she said, trying to be calm, though her voice was tinged with fury. I smiled briefly despite the circumstances. I liked her anger. “One of those pretty elf guys decided he had a right to curse me because, what, he didn’t like my expression? How is this allowed?”
“Well, everyone knows to smile when they come, so it’s rarely a problem,” Ma said, shrugging. “And there’s no one who could forbid it, really. We could stop welcoming them here, but it’s… tradition. I don’t think people in town would react kindly if anyone tried to abolish it.”
Scarlett huffed and turned to me, her eyes glaring sharply. “Why didn’t you tell me about the smiling thing?” she demanded. It would have been really sexy if my family hadn’t been there—and the horrible yowling didn’t spoil the mood.
“I thought it was just a story,” I said, squirming under her gaze.
“Well, I told you,” Ma said, though without accusation. She just stated a fact. “I told you to keep a smile on your face.”
Scarlett frowned and took a deep breath, her shoulders slowly relaxing. Inside, she was seething, but she made an effort to address Mother politely. “You did. But I thought it just meant you wanted me to enjoy the celebration.”
Ma shook her head, her eyes growing wide with realization. “Oh, no. It’s something we say as a reminder to protect yourself, dear. Smiles ward off evil spirits and bad luck. I didn’t think it might have a different meaning for you, which was inconsiderate of me. I’ll do better explaining things in the future.”
Scarlett slumped slightly, her bouncing leg finally calming under my hand. “It’s okay. I… I haven’t been here long. I’m sure I’ll learn everything with time.” She snorted softly, though without amusement. “If I don’t end up in a ravine like your cousin.”
Mom gasped, and then her mouth stretched in a wide grin, though her eyes were worried. “Smile, quickly,” I told Scarlett, because evidently, there was some truth to the old folktales.
Scarlett opened her mouth to argue but then just sighed and gave me the fakest, angriest smile I had seen in my life. I hoped it was enough.
“We don’t say things like that, dear,” Mother scolded her gently. “It invites bad luck. My, my, I really should have thought about teaching you all this. Instead, I’ve just gossiped and told you silly stories.”
“It’s okay. I enjoy your stories,” Scarlett said, and this time, her small smile was genuine. “So… I have to go to a lake and take a dip, right? And the cats will stop yammering?”
A flash of fear sliced through me, biting as strongly as physical pain. Suddenly, I was terrified of losing Scarlett. A vision flashed through my mind, my beautiful snowdrop slipping on ice and falling back into a ravine, her dainty body crumpling down, down below in the snow, golden hair strewn over white, unseeing blue eyes staring at the sky.
“No,” I said, so forcefully, everyone jerked. “You’ll stay home. The curse only lasts until the end of the Yule. Right, Mother?” When she nodded I sighed in relief. “It’s only thirteen days,” I told Scarlett, who glared at me with narrowed eyes. “No need to go anywhere.”
She gave me an incredulous look and snorted with disdain. “Can you imagine listening tothatfor thirteen days?” she asked with a scowl. “Not being able to sleep because of the noise? Being afraid to leave the house because who knows what the curse does—what if the cats attack? I’m not going to let you all suffer because of me. I’m going.”
My father gave me a meaningful look, and I sighed, suddenly uneasy. Scarlett had a point, but cold terror clutched at my insides, making me speak before I could think.
“No, you aren’t. This is final.” There was a faint tremor in my voice, but I meant it. I wasn’t going to risk her. When Scarlett opened her mouth to argue, I shook my head. “No. I don’t want to hear it. I won’t let you go up that mountain. End of discussion.”
Her face darkened with rage but before she could do anything, Cris spoke up. “We should just shoot them,” he said excitedly. “I can pick them off one by one from the balcony. I’m good with my sling.”
“Icy gales,” Ma said, hiding her face in her hands before she leveled a heavy stare at her youngest son. “We’re not going to kill innocent animals, Cris. What in the name of Ole Frost are you thinking?”
He shrugged, shifting guiltily under her chiding gaze. “Well, it was just an option. Better than going up the mountain in the middle of winter. I don’t want my sister-in-law to end up in a ravine.”
“Smile!” Mother grunted, and for a moment, everyone in the room grinned widely, looking uncomfortable and fake.
“Ole Frost’s balls, that sound is horrible,” Soren said, pressing his hands to his ears.
When my mother didn’t tell him off for crude language, just shaking her head in defeat, I knew it was bad. Maybe Scarlett was right and simply waiting for the curse to end on its own wasn’t an option. Maybe we’d all go crazy from the incessant yowling.
I didn’t know what to do.
“Well, let us all put some cotton wool in our ears and try to sleep,” Ma said, standing up wearily. “Tomorrow is a new day. We’ll think of something. And who knows, they might stop when they get tired.”
